Page 20 - Fuels & Lubes International Q2 2013

patent system so as to avoid revealing company
plans. The range of products is quite large, and
includes “next generation” wear-improvers,
thermally stable anti-wear agents, etc.
Tianhe has, however, also moved beyond
simply developing new products; it has placed
new emphasis on differentiating these products.
The company’s HIPER line, for example, moves
away from the naming convention of a simple
“T” prefix, followed by two digits. The HIPER
brand is meant to convey the idea that the
line is high-performance. The C-TECH and
P-TECH lines espouse a similar philosophy,
referring to component and product technology,
respectively.
Ravi explained that Tianhe’s philosophy
is driven by the voice of the customer, adding
that a good company must “listen carefully
and respond quickly to customer needs by
delivering solutions and packages.”
According to Ravi, Tianhe already has
a strong line-up of lower-tier lubricants and
additives. The company’s packages are generally
designed toward the mid-tier market, and
the company itself is designed for delivering
the highest tier of service. Ravi was quick to
point out that Tianhe doesn’t “beat out other
companies because of price: It’s service; it’s tech
support; it’s quality.” He added that customers
are looked upon as “long-term strategic
partners.”
one of the company’s biggest potential
hurdles was working toward oEM approval.
Tianhe seems to have worked around this
problem with an interesting approach. It has
not gone after factory-fill; its focus is in fact the
after-market.
Ravi also noted that so far the biggest
challenge has been breaking the barriers to
entry. For the most part, he said, these barriers
exist in the mind rather than in reality. “once
we share our philosophy with the customers,
most of these barriers go away,” he added.
He said these barriers were much greater as
recently as 10 years ago, but the major growth
in the Asia-Pacific region has helped Tianhe
become one of the best-placed companies to
serve the market, due to advances in logistics,
supply, technology and even the cultural point
of view.
Ravi attributed much of his success to an
outlook he learned from golf, which is to, “Keep
your head down, see the ball, keep hitting it and
you will succeed.”
Ravi has dedicated himself to helping
Tianhe Chemicals grow into a “viable
alternative to the big four.” Beyond just
expanding the products being offered, Ravi
has also invested in other methods to grow the
company. For example, he explained that he
has been working with one of Bangalore’s top
universities to make the company an attractive
employer to top engineering graduates. Tianhe
has done this by offering internships and
adopting an “aggressive program of promoting
our brand,” heavily advertising its strengths and
serious investments in R&D. Tianhe is building
a US$30 million R&D center in Bangalore.
Although Tianhe has expressed its plans
for international expansion ranging from
Singapore, where it plans to build an additive
blending plant, to the U.S., it has continued
to maintain a strong presence in China. The
company has a strong working relationship with
Sinopec and PetroChina, and has slowly begun
to solidify itself as a major player in the market.
With 1,200 employees in China and more than
100 products, Tianhe Chemicals has an additive
manufacturing capacity of 200,000 metric
tons (MT) per annum and a package blending
capacity of 60,000 MT.
Although competing with the larger
international additive companies is a daunting
task, Ravi said that Tianhe will utilize its
strengths “by sharing costs and adding value
over the long term.” Being privately owned
gives Tianhe the advantage of focusing more on
long-term strategies, as opposed to short-term
successes, he said. The company’s current goal
is to continue to grow at 15-20% annually. Ravi
acknowledged that such growth might eat away
at the Big Four’s 80% market-share, but that
would realistically account for only a “flea-
bite” of the US$12.5 billion additive market.
Tianhe’s real growth will be realized through
the purchase of strategically aligned companies,
adding to its portfolio of packages, people and
services.
天合采用了比较有趣的方式来解决这个问题。他不是
追求取得装车油的资格，而是针对售后市场。
Ravi还提到，当目前为止，最大的挑战是打破
进入壁垒。他说，最重要的是这些壁垒存在于人的脑
中而不是现实中。“一旦我们与客户分享了我们的理
念，这种壁垒就可以得以消除。”他补充说。他还说，
这些壁垒比十年前更高，但亚太地区的巨大增长帮助
天合成为最有利的公司之一，以为该市场提供服务。
天合在物流、供应、技术和文化等方面具有优势。
Ravi把他的大部分成功归功于他在高尔夫中学
到的一点，即“低头看球，击球，然后你就会取得成
功。”
Ravi致力于帮助天合化工成长为“四大的替代
选择”。除了扩大产品供应以外，Ravi也采用其他方
式帮助公司成长。例如，他解释说他与班加罗尔顶尖
的大学之一进行合作，使公司成为对优秀工程类专业
生有吸引力的雇主。天合通过提供实习，及采取“激
进的品牌宣传工作”，大量投放广告，宣传其优势，并
大力投资研发来做到这一点。天合在班加罗尔投资
3000万美元建立了研发中心。
虽然天合表达了他计划进行国际扩张，从新加
坡新建添加剂调合厂，到进军美国，但他还将把主力
放在中国。公司与中石化和中石油有着密切的工作关
系，并在逐步巩固其在市场上的主力地位。公司在中
国有1200名员工，产品超过100种，其添加剂的制造
产能为每年20万吨，复合添加剂调合能力为6万吨。
虽然与国际大公司竞争并不容易，Ravi说，天合
将利用其“分担成本，提供长期价值”的优势。作为民
营企业，天合具有着眼长远的优势，而不是只看重短
期成功。公司目前的目标是继续以每年15%的速度增
长。Ravi承认这种增长速度不足以憾动四大约80%
的市场份额，但在总量达125亿美元的添加剂市场上
足以分得一杯羹。公司还将通过并购在战略上有意义
的公司以实现增长，同时获得产品技术、人员和服务
能力。
Tianhe is building a US$30 million R&D center
in Bangalore, India
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